Chris Hellman, Communications and Budget Analyst for the National Priorities Project, discusses the $1.2 trillion national security budget; how government secrecy and over-classification of documents hides wasteful programs and prevents Congressional oversight; huge projected increases in health care and pensions for veterans and retired military; and the bloated Homeland Security, intelligence and State Department budgets.
MP3 here. (20:17)
Chris Hellman is Communications and Budget Analyst for the National Priorities Project.
Chris joined NPP after serving as a military policy analyst for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focused on national security spending, military planning and policy, base closures, major weapons systems, trends in the defense industry, global military spending, and homeland security. Prior to joining the Center, Chris spent six years as a Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Defense Information. He also worked for two years as a military budget specialist at Physicians for Social Responsibility. Previously, Chris spent ten years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer working on national security and foreign policy issues. He is a frequent media commentator on military planning, policy, and budgetary issues and is the author of numerous reports and articles. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Middlebury College in Vermont
